Can't find time for memoir? Make it a priority

By Danette Mitchell

Article Launched: 05/20/2007 06:43:42 AM PDT

After my column about the importance of passing down family stories ("Sharing Stories with next generation," The Reporter, April 2), some readers contacted me and expressed their desires to leave behind stories for their children and grandchildren.

Some had started a family memoir or other book project long ago and then put it down because "life happens." Others wondered how they could ever find the time to undertake such an ambitious project or even get started.

I thought about them last Saturday, during a monthly meeting of a writers' organization that I belong to. The workshop session topic was "Time Management for Writers," taught by one of the organization's board members who is a city editor at a local newspaper.

Anyone who is contemplating a family memoir or similar project could benefit from the tips presented. They may not be new, but they bear repeating because they can help us find the time to do those things that are most meaningful to us.

In the workshop, we first had to get rid of the idea that time management exists. It does not. We have control only of ourselves, which is self-management. Therefore, to manage our time, we must decide what is important to us.

Most workshop participants listed finances, health, family, spiritual growth, recreation and community problems. Writing, however, has to be on the list or we won't find time to do it.

Next, we had to pull from that list our top five priorities and rank them in order of importance. For the sake of the workshop, writing was included in the top five.

We then had to think about our goals for writing. Is it a hobby? Do we want to write a family memoir to give to relatives? Do we want to make money from our memoir or book, or simply convey a message? Or both? Do we want to supplement our income by writing, or become a professional who makes a living primarily from writing? Maybe, we want our book to be among Oprah Winfrey's book club selections - or even those of The Reporter's book club.

Whatever our writing goals, the bigger they are, the greater the commitment level.

Then we set three specific objectives for our goals. For instance, the objectives of someone writing a memoir might be to interview a family member once a month, read through notes every day and write one chapter a month.

But here comes the biggie: How do we find niches of time to meet our objectives? We might need to wake up a half-hour early. Some things we do in the morning might need to be done at night, or vice versa. Maybe we have to be selective about how much television we watch or decrease our recreation time.

We can spend our lunch breaks writing, too. The workshop presenter mentioned two people who "were" employed as secretaries for the county. They wrote on their lunch breaks and are now best- selling romance authors.

Our objectives must be measurable and realistic. And we must set a timetable for them.

Finally, we shouldn't feel alone. Seek out other writers by joining writers' organizations or critique groups or taking creative writing classes.

Life does happen. However, staying true to our goals helps us to realize that there is life beyond trials. It gives us power at times when we feel powerless.

I think, too, we must respect ourselves enough to do some of the wonderful things in life that we want to do, like writing a memoir that can link generations and provide an eternal deposit in someone's heart. Aren't we already doing enough things out of necessity or that we couldn't care less about?

The author, a Vacaville resident, can be contacted at damitchell@earthlink.net